A dense fog enveloped the entire town. The black mist writhed as if it were alive, and under the influence of a strange magical field, all the town’s residents had fallen into a deep sleep.

WHOOSH!

Zhu Ju’s figure appeared on the inn’s roof. A faint Spiritual Light shone from his eyes as he scanned his surroundings.

Spiritual Eye Technique!

It was an ordinary Magic, but using it with eyes that had already opened two Eye Acupoints made it even more effective. His originally blurry vision suddenly became crystal clear.

In his eyes...

Countless black threads, imperceptible to the naked eye, spread throughout the town. In this moment, the concepts of "cloud" and "mist" seemed to have taken physical form, converging into a Grand Array that sealed the town off from the outside world.

Or rather...

A Magic Altar!

’This town has at least ten thousand people. Judging by the signs, many have lived here for years. To think they’re nothing more than ’meat’ being raised by someone else.’

As far as he could see...

The auras of the townspeople were like scattered embers on the ground. Those with strong Qi Blood shone brightly, while the old and frail were dim.

Moreover, nearly a hundred flickers of Spiritual Light belonging to Magicians could be seen.

’Cultivators in this world definitely need a large amount of flesh and blood to become a True Man.’

Zhu Ju stroked his chin, lost in thought.

’A family like the Situ Family occupying an entire city is ultimately a rare case. For an Independent Cultivator Great Mage to become a True Man, they also need to gather tens of thousands of living beings. This is an extremely difficult task, so over time, the ’Meat Market’ business came into existence.’

’Build a town, attract people to settle in, and when a Great Mage has a need, sell it off at a high price...’

’It’s all about profit!’

He shook his head lightly, his voice tinged with emotion.

"I just never imagined that the ones doing this kind of business would be Demon Catchers."

Demon Catchers!

Slaying Demons and protecting all living beings.

This had been their creed since ancient times, since their very founding.

Countless stories of Demon Catchers circulated among the common folk. In these tales, they rewarded good and punished evil, brave and fearless. Ordinary people held them in high regard.

Who would have thought...

...that behind such a glorious facade, there could be something so dark and sordid?

This place wasn’t far from Tianzui City—a two or three-day carriage ride at most. It was practically right under their noses.

’There are probably many more ’Meat Markets’ like this one.’

To be so blatant, they must be used to it.

’This world is rotten to the core. Almost all Cultivators are potential Demons.’

’And the Demons can never be truly eradicated!’

Zhu Ju narrowed his eyes, a fierce glint appearing within them.

Even with his indifferent nature, unconcerned with the lives and deaths of others, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of killing intent at this moment.

"How can this be?"

"Why haven’t we gotten out yet?"

"Shopkeeper!"

"Fang, you bastard, let us out!"

"..."

Furious roars echoed from within the dense fog, mixed with terrified pleas and desperate begging.

These people were all ’meat peddlers’ like Shepherd Li. Realizing the designated hour had arrived but they were unable to leave the town, they fell into a panic.

"It’s no use struggling. There’s someone from the Wuk Family among the ’meat’ this time. They want to use the advancement ritual to kill him. They’ll never let us leave and leak this."

Shepherd Li knelt on the ground, wailing in despair.

"It’s over!"

"We’re all done for!"

They had made preparations and hadn’t been affected by the fog-induced slumber. As a result, they were even more desperate than those who were asleep.

The others could pass away in their sleep, but they had to suffer the torment of fear.

BOOM!

The earth trembled slightly, and dust rained down from the houses. The strange fog permeating the town suddenly grew agitated.

It was like a massive Taotie maw, its tongue swirling madly.

And the town’s residents were its food.

Fast!

Unimaginably fast.

Once activated, the Magic Altar, which had been set up for years, unleashed a terrifying destructive power.

In the brief moment it took Zhu Ju to just circulate his energy and conceal his aura, nearly seventy percent of the people in town were turned into a mist of blood. Almost everyone who hadn’t cultivated Magic perished in that instant.

Inside every house, in every bedroom...

...the sleeping townspeople—men and women, young and old—were all torn apart by an invisible force. Their Skin and Flesh, bones, blood vessels, and internal organs all exploded.

The mist writhed, gathering high in the sky.

At some point...

A cloud of red mist appeared in mid-air, and from within, a terrifying and bizarre Demon Fox slowly emerged.

Six vertical eyes were scattered irregularly across its hideous face. Its body, covered in festering maggots, exuded a savage aura. Two tails, one long and one short, swayed behind it. Its dozen-meter-long body projected an invisible pressure.

A Dharma Aspect!

The Two-Tailed Demon Fox!

Zhu Ju’s eyes twitched slightly as he formed a Seal Technique with one hand.

WHOOSH!

The Soul-Shocking Bell trembled lightly in his Sea of Consciousness, shot out from the Baihui acupoint on the crown of his head, and immediately began to emit invisible sound waves.

"Ma!"

"Hum!"

"Ba!"

"..."

The Celestial Dragon Eight Sounds!

As his Cultivation had improved and his understanding of this Magic deepened, many things he couldn’t do before were now possible.

For example...

...using the Celestial Dragon Eight Sounds to awaken others.

"Huh?"

"What’s going on?"

"Why is there so much fog?"

As the sound waves vibrated, many people awoke from their slumber, especially the Mages and Magicians with powerful Divine Soul Power.

"Be careful!"

"AHH!"

"There’s something strange about this fog!"

"..."

Shrieks and panicked cries rose and fell. The Spiritual Light of Magic flashed from several inns, and the fog rippled in response.

"Elder Hex?"

The Two-Tailed Demon Fox above opened its six eyes and called out.

"What’s going on?"

"Weren’t all the people in the ’Meat Market’ supposed to have been taken care of? This will affect my advancement."

"Rest assured," came a muffled response from the darkness.

"Since I’ve taken your money, I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong. You focus on your breakthrough. Leave the rest to me."

"Then I’ll be troubling you, Elder," the Two-Tailed Demon Fox nodded.

"Once this junior becomes a True Man, my father will have a generous gift for you."

"Come on!"

It flexed its body slightly, opened its maw wide, and took a sharp breath, inhaling the dense blood-mist below.

HISS...

The sound of rushing air filled the sky.

The blood-mist converged into a stream of blood that surged towards its open mouth.

As the blood-mist was rapidly devoured, the Two-Tailed Demon Fox’s body gradually solidified from its ethereal state.

’Hmm?’

Zhu Ju’s eyes shifted.

With a light tap of his foot, his entire body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, covering a hundred meters in a flash.

A hundred-meter leap, without even a whisper of wind.

The abilities of a Six Acupoints Innate Qi Refiner were already beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, no different from those of a Demon.

He landed gracefully on a rooftop beneath the Two-Tailed Demon Fox, the Spiritual Light in his eyes flaring as he stared directly at the phantom above.

The buffs from his Hidden Element Technique and Profound Void Body concealed Zhu Ju’s aura within the fabric of heaven and earth, allowing him to remain completely unaffected even while inside the array.

’A chance to observe a Great Mage’s Divine Soul Dharma Form transform into a Demon True Man up close... this is a rare opportunity that can’t be missed.’

In his line of sight...

...as the Two-Tailed Demon Fox continuously devoured the blood-mist, its body became increasingly solid.

The originally illusory Divine Soul Dharma Form seemed to be getting injected with meridians and flesh, gaining a physical body.

And this process was clearly not instantaneous.

The two tails, six eyes, four claws, the spine...

These parts changed first. The internal organs formed before the skin, the bones before the flesh and blood, the blood vessels before the fur...

In Zhu Ju’s eyes, the Two-Tailed Demon Fox was like a painted scroll, and the blood-mist was the ink being splashed onto it by an unseen artist.

’Spirit Vein!’

His voice trembled slightly.

’The first thing to change is the Spirit Vein indicated by the Visualization Image!’

’Spirituality...’

’So that’s how it is?’

Refining a Magical Artifact requires Heavenly and Earthly Treasures; no amount of Mortal Iron or common copper is of any use.

It was the same for a Demon True Man.

To become a Demon, livestock and wild beasts with no or weak Spirituality also did not meet the conditions for advancement.

Only humans!

Only people with abundant Spirituality could help a Great Mage become a True Man.

’The Visualization Image and the Dharma Aspect are just a catalyst, a shell. They need to be injected with spiritual matter—that is, people...’

’But it’s not just one person in the end. With the flesh and blood of tens of thousands piled together, how could there be no impurities?’

’No!’

’It’s still the Spirituality!’

’Or maybe... it should be the soul?’

’The souls and consciousness of tens of thousands of people are forcibly twisted and squeezed together by the Visualization Image. It’s bound to collapse one day. No wonder the minds of Demon True Men are so insane.’

Zhu Ju’s eyes flickered, thoughts rising and falling rapidly in his Sea of Consciousness. Visualization Image, Spirituality, Demon... concepts flooded his mind.

His many thoughts were a tangled mess, yet he felt a growing sense of clarity.

*

*

*

BOOM!

The inn collapsed.

Wuk Xian, holding a Beast Horn, looked around with a pale face and shouted,

"Wuk Xian of the Wuk Family is here! Whichever fellow Daoist is advancing to the True Man realm, I ask you to show me some consideration and let me leave. I will reward you handsomely afterward."

"My grandfather is the Second Decline True Man, Wuk Kong!"

His voice echoed in the air, but there was no response for a long time.

"It’s no use."

Someone spoke with a sorrowful tone.

"They’re trying to kill you here. Once you’re refined into the Demon True Man’s body, not even a Second Decline True Man will be able to find the real culprit."

"This way, they can win over a newly advanced True Man and destroy the evidence at the same time. Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone?"

’Hmm?’

Wuk Xian’s heart sank.

"Go!"

He barked the order, and a dozen figures immediately rushed out from the inn, surrounding him as they sprinted toward the edge of town.

As long as they got out of town, destroying the evidence wouldn’t be so easy.

"Trying to leave?"

An ice-cold voice came from an unknown direction. The group felt the road before them twist and distort, making it impossible to tell which way was which.

"Once you’ve entered my Cloud Forbidden Altar, no one leaves without my permission."

"Just stay obediently in town and become a part of the new True Man’s body!"

"Bullshit!" Wuk Xian roared.

"Break for me!"

The Beast Horn in his hand flashed with a faint glimmer of lightning. With a forward swing, a bolt of crimson thunder surged forth.

Red Cloud Divine Thunder!

BOOM!

The extremely firm and yang Thunder Technique was the bane of all magic. The fog ahead instantly dispersed, revealing a hundred-meter-long tunnel.

A chance!

Wuk Xian’s eyes lit up. His body was enveloped in a fine net of electricity as he transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot forward.

His speed was unbelievable.

"Hmph!"

A giant palm with clearly defined lines suddenly materialized at the end of the tunnel, meeting the incoming lightning with a vicious strike.

PENG!

The electric net scattered into motes of Spiritual Light, and Wuk Xian was sent tumbling to the ground.

"Hex Zhong?"

He roared, his hair disheveled.

"Hex! My grandfather will never let you go! The Wuk Family will definitely slaughter the entire lineage of the Eight-Armed Vajra!"

"The Wind and Thunder Wuk Family is indeed formidable. Otherwise, why would I go to such lengths to deal with a single junior like you?" the Eight-Armed Vajra, Hex Zhong, said slowly.

"But things have already come to this. It’s useless no matter how much you struggle."

"Refine!"

As the Magic Altar operated at full power, the group of Mages on the scene screamed and collapsed to their knees, their blood and Essence rapidly draining away.

Wuk Xian was in a slightly better situation.

The Beast Horn in his hand emitted a faint Spiritual Light, forming a fine electric net that completely enveloped his body.

This greatly reduced the Magic Altar’s refining effect on him, but it was only a passive defense. It wouldn’t last forever.

"Hm?"

Suddenly...

Hex Zhong’s tone changed.

"Who else is here?"

In the very center of the town...

A burly man stood at the core of the Magic Altar. Before him, the Round Light Technique reflected a complete image of the town.

He could see everyone.

But...

The Two-Tailed Demon Fox, in the middle of its breakthrough, suddenly let out a piercing shriek, as if something had seized it by the throat.

"Who?"

Hex Zhong’s face twisted in fury.

"Who are you? Where are you hiding?"

......

As the Two-Tailed Demon Fox used the town’s living beings to break through, Zhu Ju stood below, carefully observing its changes.

At first, he could see everything clearly.

Gradually...

...he started to lose track of the pace.

Seeing that the Two-Tailed Demon Fox was about to break through, he simply flicked his sleeve, and the Five Elements Ring shot out to ensnare it.

"Not so fast. Take your time."

"ROAR!"

The Five-Colored Ring landed on its body like five constricting bands. No matter how much it struggled, it couldn’t break free. The Demon Fox couldn’t help but panic.

"Who?"

"Elder Hex!"

The Demon Fox struggled frantically, and for a moment, its body underwent a few more changes.

"Good!"

Zhu Ju’s voice was filled with delight, as if he had made a new discovery.

"Just like that! The Dharma Spirit Vein is actually similar to the legendary Dragon and Phoenix Seal. If I can just decipher it..."

"Found you!" Before he could finish his sentence, a roar echoed from the distance, arriving in front of him in an instant.

Four twisted arms shot forward like nimble snakes, four giant palms striking in a clapping motion.

"Die!"

Zhu Ju frowned.

Then he shook his head in resignation and formed a Sword Pointing with his hand.

ZING!